The Sweetest Way To Decorate Your Tree

This weekend, with Christmas carols playing in the background and lights twinkling on the tree, the first snow fell.

Almost as if on cue.


It didn't last long.

A tiny dusting.

Just enough to stir up those festive holiday feelings.

Not enough to shovel.

Perfect.

Those few flakes were just what I needed to get my Christmas crafting juices flowing.

I'd been gathering ideas, tucking them away on Pinterest, for the past few months and was excited to dig in.

Like a kid in a candy shop, I started with the sweetest one first.

It was an idea that came to me when my lovely friend Kris shared some cute cookie recipes.

One in particular caught my eye. It was the most darling gingerbread man cookie and it sparked my imagination.

Now most of you know that I'm not a huge fan of baking or cooking. And don't tell anyone, but I don't like gingerbread. 

Crafting however. Well, that's my jam.

So where others saw a cookie, I saw an ornament.

One I knew that would so cute on my tree.

And I wasn't wrong.

How To Make A Clay Gingerbread Man Ornament

First, I ordered my supplies. This is what I used:


Sculpey Air Dry Clay in Terra Cotta

A Gingerbread Man metal cookie cutter

A rolling pin

Plastic knife

Metal straw

Brown craft paint

Glitter Snow

Twine

Ribbon

Hot Glue Gun - this cordless one is my new obsession

I actually had a gingerbread man cookie cutter on hand, but I found this one and grabbed it, because the arms were longer.


That made bending them so much easier.

To protect my table, I taped some wax paper to the surface. It also made rolling out the clay easier.

Next, I opened up my kids' old Play Doh box and grabbed a couple of cutting tools and their small rolling pin.

Of course, a regular rolling pin and plastic knife will work well, too.


I molded a bit of the clay into a ball, in my hands and then rolled out to about 1/4" thick on the wax paper.

I didn't want to make it too thin so that it would crack or be too delicate to handle or store.

I also didn't want it too thick. Then it would be too heavy to hang on a branch.


The metal cookie cutter sliced through the clay easily, however, I did use the plastic tools to clean away any extra. 

Keep in mind, that the air dry clay starts to set quickly, so I moved on to bending the arms fast. If any area started to crack, I wet my finger the tiniest bit and ran it over the drying clay to smooth it out.


To keep the arms suspended while drying, I tucked a glue stick underneath them.

I knew it wouldn't stick to the clay and it was large enough to create the arch I needed. Lastly, I used the straw to poke a hole in the top of the heads to create a place for a hanger.


Then it was time to sit back and let my clay creations dry.

The clay says that it takes about 24 hours. I think it took a bit longer.

However once I was sure it was done, I painted them all in a light brown.

The terra cotta clay was a great start, but it needed a little richness.


When the paint was dry, it was time for the fun stuff. Decorating and giving my little friends faces and personality.

Now if I had thought this out a little more, I would've purchased some puffy paint in a tube, so the decorating would've been more precise.

But all I had on hand was some glitter snow that I'd used for my glass shade Christmas tree.

So I made the best of it and added "frosting" faces and details to the legs.


Then I whipped out my glue gun to anchor the candy canes in place and add a bow.

I also added a twine hanger for some rustic charm.

When I was done I had a trio of the most darling gingerbread men. They actually looked good enough to eat.


Although, I wouldn't recommend that. You know, since they're made of clay.

Instead, I suggest you add them to packages as gift tags, on the table as name cards or hand them out to the kiddies as party favors.


Or simply place them on your tree.

That's where you'll find mine.

Smiling this season.

Are you on team cookie or craft? Do tell!